Narcissus
by ocehot
Summary: Skye knows how to play his  * charm *  to his advantage, especially when it comes to the ladies. Sometimes, though, he leads them on too much - and stories must be made up involving his reflection in the Goddess Pond.


_A/N:_ 'sup. I guess I really like writing Skye as a dude who can not get enough of himself. Eh. I always felt the whole concept of "give gifts, get married" in Harvest Moon to be kind of, sort of, _really_ ridiculously shallow for the protagonist's love interest. . . Which matches my head canon for Skye. Yep. Anyway, read and review or whatever 3

_Vanity._ It was something Skye understood well. Hell, it was the one word he related to the most besides narcissistic. He was practically the epitome of vain, and he knew it. He embraced it. He loved it.

That little brunette farmer girl granting him perfume, lotions, and jewelry didn't help Skye's case of self-loving, either. He had grown rather fond of the girl, really. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't. After all, who was to object to an attractive woman showering them in expensive presents nightly? Not Skye. _Definitely _not Skye.

He absolutely adored the presents the girl, Jill, would give him. Even the super feminine earrings and bracelets that he'd sell to Won in Mineral Town for a nice profit. Sometimes she'd even go out of her way to make him his favourite dish that could take hours of work to make. It was some of the best curry he ever tasted, too.

He'd shower her in compliments, farewells that would make a romantic film look more like a comedy, and charming smiles that swept her (and all the other girls of Forget-Me-Not) off of her feet. The girl would give him expensive gratuities in exchange. It was a lovely transfer.

There was never more of a give-and-take relationship. It was effortless for Skye, and he worked it to his advantage.

He was amazed that Jill hadn't realized he treated her the same way he treated every other woman who crossed his path. He was a natural born charmer, and he made sure everyone knew it. She was there when he had tried to steal objects from the various businesses around town, and she saw the way he spoke to the other girls. Yet, she refused to give in – and would still be waiting at the bridge in front of Vesta's far at 10 PM sharp the next night. He didn't get it, but he never complained. Clearly, she was awestruck with pure admiration for him. It had happened before. Who could he blame but his dashing good looks?

Skye knew deep down he should stop leading on every single person who showed interest in him. Of course, knowing does not mean caring. He continued allowing the farmer girl to gift him with what he imagined could have made her enough gold to never work again. Some of those necklaces went for up to 3000 G, a relatively hefty profit compared to what he imagined she made from her livestock's produce.

All that changed one Autumn night. It was very clear for Forget-Me-Not at this time of year, albeit a bit chilly. The perfect night for his nightly escape to the Valley.

Walking down the hill between Mineral and Forget-Me-Not, he saw Jill running towards him, smiling. Her hands were placed behind her back, the gift inaccessible to his eyes.

Before he knew what had happened, she was flashing a blue feather at him, looking expectantly at his previously smug face. Her look of joy turned to disappointment as his turned to a simple hesitant glance. A billion supernovas of curses were going off in his head, wondering how he could sly talk his way out of _this _mess. She withdrew the feather from between them, chewing her lip nervously. She had expected to him take this just like any other gift.

Those damned sixty sprites she had saved, just so she could marry_ him,_ all seemed like four years of too much work. She had wasted her time, and she knew it. The creeping silence was interrupted by his breath-taking voice, a welcome sound in the heavy autumn air. Her purple eyes met his cyan, and her face lit up as the words dawned on her. "Let's talk about this somewhere private, m'dear."

She led him to the Goddess Pond, his favourite place in all of Forget-Me-Not. A lovely, romantic place for a proposal. Her hopes were as high as Mother's Hill. So were his, as he knew exactly how to break this to her – even if it meant losing all of these freebies he would possibly acquire in the near future.

"Fair maiden, I need to tell you something I have not told anyone before." He started, dramatically pausing to meet her eyes, and to put her hands in his. "This can be our little secret." That line usually worked really well, he knew.

She nodded for him to continue with his story, and his previously neutral face turned to one of great sorrow. Withdrawing his hands from the firm grasp she held, he turned to kneel beside the pond. He gestured for her to draw nearer, and the brunette did as she was told.

The pond was perfectly clear for this. There was no wind to disturb the surface, and their reflections were painted perfectly across the water, illuminated by the flowers that lit up around the pond. He looked into the pond instead of at her, and proceeded with his amazing fib. "Have you ever," he paused again for dramatic effect, "wondered why the Goddess Pond was my favourite area of this lovely valley, maiden?" She shook her head to answer instead of speaking, not wanting to ruin the ambiance of this moment.

He continued, his voice growing deeper with worry. "You know who Narcissus is, correct?" She let out her breath in a slow, steady sigh, figuring she knew where this was going. The phantom thief removed his gaze from the pond, and instead turned to her. "I suppose I could say that I have taken the term narcissistic back to the very roots, with the guidance of this beautiful pond." He took a small hand mirror out of his left pocket for a special effect, opened it, and kissed it lightly.

Jill looked at him in pure disbelief. "You're saying you can't marry me because you're in love with your _reflection_? Seriously?" The look he gave her was scarily similar to the look her dog gave her once when she accidentally stepped on him. "Well, yes, my dear. You could say tha-" He was cut off by a very sharp slap to the face, the kind that leave a bright red mark. And with that, she had ran away from him. He sat, facing the pond, glancing at his reflection. It truly was a beautiful sight. He could leave it, though, unlike Narcissus.

A year later, and Skye still showed up at the Valley. He kind of missed the gifts, but not the girl. The blonde farmer in Mineral Town had been showing a bit of interest towards him lately, anyway. She had given him a fantastic locket just two days ago.


End file.
